Columbia Pipeline Group

Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) operates nearly 15,000 miles of natural gas pipelines spanning from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, serving customers across 16 states. When the company increased throughput to 100% capacity in 2009, its aging control infrastructure became a critical liability. The existing homegrown SCADA system was maintained by a single engineer — with no succession plan as experienced staff retired — and replacement parts were growing scarce. The disparate, siloed control systems across compressor stations could not integrate with the corporate data warehouse, leaving management without visibility into real-time production data. Security was also at risk due to the absence of a centralized user authentication system. The cost of sustaining these legacy systems was rising steadily, and a catastrophic failure posed significant risk to contractual obligations.

CPG developed a five-year plan to standardize control systems across all pipeline facilities. The company selected a virtualized PlantPAx distributed control system (DCS) from Rockwell Automation, deployed across 40 compressor stations with rollout planned for 52 additional sites. High-availability virtualized servers from Stratus Technologies replaced physical hardware at each station, reducing footprint and minimizing hardware-related downtime. IoT-connected sensors and programmable automation controllers (PACs) manage engine functions across every station, with redundant human-machine interfaces providing operator visibility. Each server runs multiple FactoryTalk applications — including Historian, ViewPoint, and AssetCentre — enabling remote HMI access via web browser from any location. The system communicates over EtherNet/IP and integrates directly with the corporate OSIsoft PI data warehouse, giving the Enterprise Analytics team real-time and historical production data. AssetCentre centralized user authentication and change management across the entire footprint.

By early 2015, CPG achieved 99.5% reliability while operating at 100% capacity — eliminating the 20% capacity buffer previously held in reserve for equipment contingencies. The modernized system delivered measurable financial impact within its first full year:

• $2.3 million saved in maintenance costs and downtime in 2014
• System standardized across 40 compressor stations, with 52 additional sites in the rollout queue
• Enterprise Analytics team gained access to real-time and historical operations data accessible from field to executive headquarters
• Predictive maintenance programs enabled by sensor data reduced unplanned outages

The platform is expected to operate without major upgrades for at least 10 years, providing a durable return on the modernization investment.

• Standardizing on a single control platform across all facilities is critical for large pipeline operators — it simplifies maintenance, enables cross-site data sharing, and reduces the risk of institutional knowledge loss as experienced staff retire.
• Virtualization reduces hardware sprawl and failure points at remote compressor stations where physical space and on-site support are limited.
• Connecting operational data to enterprise analytics unlocks value beyond plant-level reliability — enabling company-wide business decisions based on real-time production performance.
• Proactive modernization before system failure avoids emergency replacement costs and operational disruptions that can breach contractual delivery obligations.
• A single vendor partnership for a multi-site, multi-state rollout reduces coordination complexity on large infrastructure programs.